When: Wed Mar 10, 2010 6:30pm to Wed Mar 10, 2010 7:30pm  EST

Event Status: confirmed

When: Sun Mar 14, 2010 6pm to 7pm  EDT

Event Status: confirmed

When: Sun Mar 14, 2010 4:30pm to 4:30pm  EDT

Event Status: confirmed

When: Fri Mar 12, 2010 9am to 10am  EST

Where: Parlor
Event Status: confirmed

Help homeless families through Family Promise - Shadow Rock UCC, Pheonix, AZ unites with other congregations to provide safe shelter, meals, and compassionate assistance for homeless families. Family Promise - Greater Phoenix is one of 129 Family Promise programs throughout the country temporarily meeting the needs of homeless families. Family Promise has affiliates in 38 states and the District of Columbia. Altogether there are more than 4,000 congregations and more than 110,000 volunteers who have assisted 130,000 guests since 1988. The parent organization's website is found at FamilyPromise.org. In keeping with the guidelines from the parent organization, the Greater Phoenix program provides meals, a homelike setting, emotional support and a full range of social, economic, and educational services.

Dale and Bethsaba Nafzinger and their two daughters spent the first half of 2008 living in the United States. The Nafzigers have served with Global Ministries for 12 years with the national Churches Fellowship of Nepal. By Dale’s count, his family experienced 33 times the extravagant welcome afforded by Global Ministries. Dale and his wife, Bethsaba, are missionaries with the United Mission for Nepal. He is an electrical engineer; she works for the health department of the United Mission in midwifery and general nursing. When the Nafzigers returned to Nepal – a nation that copes with continuing political instability and constant shortages of gasoline, cooking gas and electricity – they were supported 100 percent by the generosity of a mission network.

Commemorating the 200th anniversary of America's first foreign mission society, the United Church of Christ has planned a two-year observation of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), a historic predecessor to Wider Church Ministries.

Story: Each year in Cape Town, almost 150 girls between 6 and 18 leave home to fend for themselves on the streets. The girls leave to escape physical abuse and neglect, or have been sent away because their families cannot support them. Ons Plek Shelter for girls opened in 1988 and is a 24-hour assessment center in Cape Town, South Africa. This residential safe house has 16 beds but can accommodate up to 25 girls on mattresses. Ons Plek, “A Place for Us,” provides 24-hour housing, counseling and education as the girls undertake the complex transition to a structured life. Siviwe Shelter (meaning “God has heard us”) opened in 1993 in Woodstock, South Africa, and provides phase two of treatment. Once the girls have weaned themselves from street life at Ons Plek, they come to Siviwe where they can focus on building new lives. The shelters are Global Ministries partners.

The isolation of the church in Germany during the Nazi era prompted creation of the German Protestant Kirchentag in 1949. The lay movement called together Protestant Christians in Germany to “strengthen them in their faith, to prepare them for responsibility in their churches; to encourage them in witnessing in the world; and to have solidarity with those in the world-wide community of Christendom.” The biennial event integrates theological, social and political themes and, in 2003, organized its first Ecumenical Kirchentag, which was planned by the Protestant and Roman Catholic Churches in Germany. Another first occurred in 2009 when the United Church of Christ from the USA participated in the Kirchentag’s Market of Opportunities with an exhibition of the God is Still Speaking campaign, samples of various publications and information about the UCC’s beliefs and principles. Responding to an invitation by the German churches, a delegation of UCC pastors hosted a communion service in English and organized a spiritual concert featuring the Vision Choir from Michigan led by Dr. Geoff Stanton. The Kirchentag begins on a Wednesday evening in late May or early June and culminates with a Sunday morning open air communion service. An estimated 3000 events are available from which to choose, ranging from serious to fun, cultural to theological, and everything in between. The five-day celebration in 2009 took place May 20-24 in Bremen, Germany and was attended by more than 100,000 participants. The Second Ecumenical Kirchentag is planned for May 12-16, 2010 in Munich and will include topics on how Christians can help shape the world and establish signs of hope. Some of these discussions will include, Acting responsibly – being Christian in the one world; Living together – being Christian in an open socieity; Seeking and finding – being Christian alongside a variety of world views; and living our faith – being Christian among the variety of churches

When: Sat Mar 6, 2010 9:30am to 10:30am  EST

Event Status: confirmed

A replica of the slave ship La Amistad has been transformed into a freedom ship, a floating history lesson for children and adults who visit the 129-foot topsail schooner. Volunteer Ministries of the UCC and Amistad America, Inc. are founding partners in the present-day Amistad, built to tell the story of the original ship’s African captives and their connection to the UCC. Former Amistad volunteer John Kamara, a resident of Sierra Leone, says he was an ambassador to this history. Kamara not only demonstrated the in human conditions suffered by the African captives at the hands of slave traders but also taught how change comes from people of different races working together for justice. Each port is an opportunity to tell others of the call to unity and compassion.

"God in the movies" The 27th annual Craigville Colloquy on Cape Cod will focus on "Grace Transforming Human Life" in contemporary and classic film. The Colloquy is the only annual conference on theology in the United Church of Christ and meets every summer at Craigville Village--a rustic retreat center on Nantucket Sound. This year's event is Monday to Friday, July 12 to 16. "Movies are often used in congregations as an effective way to engage young people and adults in the great themes of alienation and redemption, conflict and reconciliation," says the Colloquy's organizer, the Rev. Elsabeth Hilke. "This conference will allow participants to enjoy films as an invitation for in-depth theological reflection in the setting of a worshiping and praying Christian community. "It should be especially useful for pastors, parish educators and any member of the church who loves movies." The Colloquy will include a keynote address by Dr. Lee Barrett of Lancaster Theological Seminary and daily Bible study by Dr. William R. Herzog II, dean of Andover-Newton Theological School. Also planned is a workshop on the creative use of movies as a learning tool in local churches and participants will have an opportunity in small groups to share ideas about how movies can be used in a congregational setting. Movie clips will be used during presentations and full-length features will be screened during the week. Two ecumenical celebrations of the eucharist, a hymn sing and daily liturgical prayer will round out the program. "Typically, Craigville Colloquy knits theological reflection, engaging Bible study and inspiring worship into an experience that feeds the mind and heart," Hilke says. "And no Colloquy would be complete without the free afternoons that allow participants to relax at Craigville Beach or explore historic Cape Cod." To register, visit www.craigvillecolloquy.com or call 1-508-775-1265. The Craigville Conference Center is a ministry of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ.

Commemorating 20 years in Cleveland and installing its new general minister and president, the United Church of Christ kicks off a special spring weekend with a celebration dinner Friday evening, April 16, at the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Cleveland.

Story: The “God is Still Speaking” TV commercials proclaim the UCC to be a church of inclusion for all. One person wrote upon seeing our TV commercial: “I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your message and your courage. I am a spiritual person who identifies with the Christian religion even though I have felt for a long time that it doesn’t identify with me. I feel that the Christian religion, like others around the world, has been hijacked by and defined by a radical few who use it to promote their earthly agendas often in what I consider very hateful and non-Christian ways. I didn’t know that there was a church that promotes the true teachings of Christ without all the ‘religious’ add-ons. I will be finding the nearest UCC in my area and will be there Sunday morning (like the prodigal son returning home).”

In a move intended to strengthen coordination among the United Church of Christ’s publishing, marketing and communication efforts, the Rev. J. Bennett Guess, the denomination’s director of communications, has been appointed acting director of The Pilgrim Press / United Church Press and the UCC’s distribution service, United Church of Christ Resources.

Denominations and interfaith organizations recruit thousands to sign on to health-care reform push for those 'left out, left behind.'

OGHS LIVE 2010 will present on March 3 the second in its live, five-part online series of international Lenten gatherings led by area executives from Global Ministries. Live web programming embracing the theme "Do You Love Me . . . Feed My Sheep" is being held on five consecutive Wednesdays during Lent.

When: Tue Mar 9, 2010 7pm to 8pm  EST

Event Status: confirmed

Story: Beatitudes Center DOAR (Developing Older Adult Resources) is a nonprofit, interfaith organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for older adults and their families. Founded in 1981 as an outreach ministry of Church of the Beatitudes, Phoenix, AZ, Beatitudes Center DOAR promotes health and well being through a broad range of community-based services that assist caregivers, homebound adults, grandparents raising grandchildren, and congregational health programs.

When “The Fire” starts in the desert at Rincon United Church of Christ in Tucson, it can spread quickly. The Fire – aka the youth group at Rincon UCC – fed its desire for service by participating in February’s Souper Bowl of Caring. They raised more than $700 and nearly 100 cans of food for their local food bank.